They Had Lights Inside Their Eyes
by quixotic-x
Summary: "If I'd have known that this war would pull us apart, I would have made sure to etch every single happy memory into my brain so that I would never forget." MWPP era, mainly SB/OC.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Hi everyone! I know it's been a while since I've written anything, and I've been itching to get my creative juices flowing again! So when I was listening to the song, Dead Hearts by Stars, a premise for a story just came to me! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this one... unlike my other stories... *cough* I hope you'll give it a read anyways!

**Summary: **With many followers and indescribable power, Voldemort is at the peak of his reign. The war has caused many friendships to fall apart. When Sirius Black happens to bump into his former best friend at a pub, many memories of the past come flooding back and they reminisce on all of their past experiences together. This is the story of their final year at Hogwarts, before the war changes their lives forever.

**Disclaimer: **I, sadly, do not own Harry Potter or anything you may recognize from J.K. Rowling's books.

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

_Tell me everything that happened, tell me everything you saw._  
><em>They had lights inside their eyes...<em>  
><em>They had lights inside their eyes...<em>  
><em>Did you see the closing window, did you hear the slamming door?<em>  
><em>They moved forward and my heart died...<em>  
><em>They moved forward and my heart died...<em>  
><em>Please, please tell me what they looked like, did they seem afraid of you?<em>  
><em>They were kids that I once knew...<em>  
><em>They were kids that I once knew...<em>

The Stokerton Pub was accustomed to having strange characters walk through its wooden doors. John Fortescue, the owner of the bar, worked every day and was able to oversee the comings and goings of the various men and women that graced the pub's presence. He was a friendly man, known for engaging in witty banter with his customers, and therefore knew a lot about those that frequented his establishment. Many liked to boast and tell extravagant stories as they drank, while others preferred to keep their exploits a secret. Every man was different, and John knew never to judge a person by their appearance. There was only one thing he knew for sure about every person that walked into his pub; that they were part of the magical community that muggles refused to believe existed.

Wizards and witches were his main patrons, but goblins, dwarfs, half-giants, veelas, and various other creatures were also welcome. The Stokerton Pub was one of the liveliest bars created solely for magical beings that resided in London. That is, it _was_ one of the liveliest bars until the war started. Every witch and wizard was affected by Voldemort's reign of terror and it reflected on John Fortescue's business. He still had many customers, but it was no longer the happy place he loved to work in. Now that Voldemort and his followers held a large amount of power over the magical community, the pub all but became a place for lost souls to rest and drink their troubles away. One such person was Evelyn Wilcott.

She sat in the corner of the pub, swirling the amber liquid in her glass. She had always known of The Stokerton Pub, having even heard of it from upperclassmen who managed to sneak in while they were still in Hogwarts. She had dreamed of coming here with her friends before... before everything changed. That was a dream she had prior to the war. Now, her dreams were completely different and quite less trivial than managing to sneak into a pub underaged. It had been a couple of years since she graduated from Hogwarts and while she was still very young, her life experiences caused her to age in unimaginable ways.

She surveyed the various people inside the pub. Those who talked spoke in hushed voices. Many eyes were downcast. Several people had a table to themselves and it was adorned with countless empty bottles. Evelyn shook her head.

"What a disappointment this lot is," she muttered. It was her first time visiting the pub and she had hoped that the place would be filled with people in higher spirits.

Just as she took a sip of her drink, the wooden doors opened and a man dressed in all black walked in. His dark brown hair was long enough to cover his face, but the way he stood with such purpose and attention caught Evelyn's interest. He was the only other person in the pub apart from herself and John that showed some life in them. He walked briskly to the bar and sat down right in front of John, his back turned towards Evelyn. Without even having to order, John gave the man a glass filled with the same amber liquid that Evelyn was having.

"Firewhiskey, John?" the man asked loud enough for her to hear. "I know you have something stronger."

Evelyn's body tensed. She knew that voice.

"Come on, lad. We don't want a repeat of last time. Take it easy. Firewhiskey is strong enough," John said to him. He shook his head but there was a smile on his face.

"I do believe my body has built up some sort of immunity to the effects of firewhiskey," the customer responded. Evelyn gripped her glass tightly. There was no way it could be anyone else. She had spent almost eight years in the presence of that voice. She watched as the customer took a long swig of his drink before turning his attention back to the pub owner.

"So how's the business going, John? I see the rowdy lot haven't come back yet."

"Business is going, but that's about it. This ridiculous war has pretty much scared everyone into hiding, I'm afraid. You're probably the only one who's willing to have a normal conversation with me nowadays," John said.

Evelyn couldn't help but smile. It figures that he, out of all people, would try to keep his spirits up. Her acknowledgement of the men's conversation caught the pub owner's eye and he looked at her over the customer's shoulder. She tensed up once again.

_Oh no._

The customer turned around to see what John was looking at and once his gaze fell on her, he froze with eyes wide open. Evelyn abruptly stood up but her feet did not move. Now that the customer was turned, it was easy for her to study his face. He was still as handsome as he was when she last saw him, and his grey eyes never lost their twinkle. But there was something different about them. They were... harder. In fact, there was something off about his whole presence. The fatigue and stress of war had caused him to age greatly, not unlike her. She finally took a step forward in his direction.

"Sirius Black."

He merely continued to stare. She gave him a small smile.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," she said.

"Yes, well..." his eyes bore into her. Her smile faltered.

"Right."

John gave Sirius a light smack on the head to shake him out of his stupor. "Sorry about him. Probably can't think very well in the presence of beautiful ladies."

Sirius glared at John before looking back at Evelyn. A small smile formed on his lips and he gestured towards the seat next to him.

"What, no tearful reunion hug?" she asked as she made her way over. Sirius lightly grabbed her right hand just as she was about to sit down. She avoided looking into his eyes, slightly afraid of what she would find in them. Anger? Sadness? Regret? Probably.

"It's good to see you, Evelyn," he said softly. "It's just that... Well, I would have preferred a pre-arranged meeting instead of a chance encounter."

"I know, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch-"

"Are you?"

An uncomfortable silence passed through them. Evelyn took her glass and downed all of its contents, making a face as the liquid seared her throat. With a sigh, Sirius mimicked her actions.

"John, we'll have two more. In fact, just keep them coming," he said, stealing a glance at his companion. She sat looking straight ahead and a slight shade of pink tinged her cheeks. It was several minutes before they began to talk again.

"How are the others?" Evelyn asked quietly.

"As good as can be expected, I suppose," he replied. "Peter's been acting awfully flighty, but I guess we all knew his nerves would be the first to go."

Evelyn allowed herself to laugh. "And Remus?"

"Tired, but alright. I suspect he's trying to hide just how much the fighting is taking a toll on him." She nodded in understanding.

"James and Lily?"

"Still going strong," Sirius smiled. "Lily refuses to stop fighting, even though she's well into her second trimester."

Evelyn laughed. "I wouldn't doubt that for a second."

Another pause.

"She wants you to be the godmother, you know."

Guilt washed over her. "I haven't even seen them since the wedding," Evelyn shook her head.

"You're still her best friend."

Evelyn looked down at her cup. There was an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She traced circles on the table with her index finger in a feeble attempt to keep calm.

"I wish we were still in Hogwarts," she whispered.

Sirius laughed darkly. "You and I both, love."

"If I knew then what I know now... I think I would have done a lot of things differently."

"Like what?"

"I would have worried less about the trivial stuff, like the fighting and dances and boys... I wouldn't have stressed about my marks so much. It all seems so silly now."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"And I would have just cherished every moment with you guys - with everyone," she continued. "If I'd have known that this war would pull us apart, I would have made sure to etch every single happy memory into my brain so that I would never forget. It's not fair. I feel like all of our memories are just half-remembered dreams."

"Like they never actually happened. I know the feeling," Sirius agreed with a sigh.

"And I feel like we should have been able to do more things, should have been given more time to... I don't know."

Sirius stayed quiet. Evelyn turned and looked into his eyes for the first time. There was no anger or regret in them, but there was sadness. Evelyn would have preferred the other two emotions over it.

"We never got the chance to... We should have been..." she found it hard to find the right words, but there was no need for it.

"I know."

There was the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. For some reason, it just made Evelyn even more upset. After they sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Sirius reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet. He grabbed something inside of it and held it out for Evelyn to take.

"I take it everywhere I go," he explained.

Evelyn looked down to find a photograph of herself, the Marauders, Lily, and their other friend, Hazel Thomas. It was taken right after Gryffindor's first match against Slytherin in their 7th year (which they won) and the friends were celebrating in the common room. They waved and jumped around in the photograph and Evelyn could see the sparkle in everyone's eyes. They were truly happy, and she felt her heart ache.

"I remember this night," she said. "You guys managed to sneak in some firewhiskey and other drinks that tasted like rubbish. This was the first time that James and Lily..." she trailed off.

"Yeah," Sirius smiled. "Thanks to a little prodding by yours truly."

"And the alcohol helped some as well," she added. "But I have to admit, that was one of the most passionate kisses I've ever seen."

"And thank the gods they weren't like Pete and that wretched girl, Victoria," Sirius said, making a face. "I didn't think Peter had it in him! Quite proud, I must say. Although I would have liked to have seen a little less."

They both laughed at the memory.

"Things were so different then," she murmured, looking back at the photograph. "I don't even feel like I'm looking at myself. It's as if..."

Sirius gulped down his drink before finishing her sentence.

"As if they were merely kids that we once knew."


	2. The Safest Place in Britain

**A/N: **So... I really should have written at least a good chunk of this story before publishing the prologue. Updates might be scarce but I'll try to do my best! This chapter is really only for background information, but I hope you guys still enjoy it! And don't forget to review, lovelies :)

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling is a god. Enough said.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One: The Safest Place in Britain<strong>

"I don't believe you!"

"Your skepticism cuts me deep, Lily dearest," James Potter held a hand to his heart in mock hurt.

"But _why_?" Lily cried out indignantly.

James shrugged. "You mustn't question one of the wisest wizards of our time, Evans. Dumbledore clearly knows a good leader when he sees one."

"But it's _you_!"

James casually threw an arm around the fiery red-head's shoulder and seemed rather pleased with himself when she didn't shake it off. "You know, one of these days, I'll actually take your insults to heart."

"It's a shame that you don't right now," Lily replied and laughed when James gave her a pout. "But really, I need proof! Where's the badge?"

The boy reached into his pocket and fished out a shiny golden badge with the words _Head Boy_ written in a deep red. He held it out with a triumphant smile on his lips. Evelyn Wilcott snatched the object from his hand and inspected it. After a while, she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Lily, it's _real_."

James grabbed it back from her clutches. "Well, _of course_ it's real, dear Evelyn! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because you're one quarter of the infamous Marauders, who invoke havoc and chaos upon the school each year," Lily huffed.

"Well, yes, that's true, but perhaps I've matured some over the summer. You'll never know unless you give me the chance!" James persisted.

"Matured my arse."

"It's true!"

"I highly doubt it."

"Well then I guess I'll just have to prove it to you."

"Yeah, good luck with that one."

"Lily, I sought you out this morning to-"

"Ask me for the billionth time if I'll go on a date with you?"

James tsked and gave her a look. "_No_. Although I can't promise that that won't come later. I bumped into Hazel on the platform and she informed me that you had been made Head Girl, which, by the way, came to no surprise. I came searching for you to tell you that we should probably go over to the prefects cabin early in order to get ourselves organized. Y'know, so that we won't look like blithering idiots when we give them their assignments for the train ride?"

Lily looked taken aback. "Oh."

"Will you please stop looking so surprised?"

Lily shook her head. "I... Well... I guess I'm sorry then, Potter."

"C'mon now, I thought we were past the whole 'only-referring-to-me-by-my-last-name' stage. I think we're good enough friends for you to call me James. And trust me, it will sound much lovelier coming from your lips."

Lily made a face, as did Evelyn. "We may be on better terms, but that does not mean I won't hex you into oblivion if you don't stop it with those cheesy lines," the latter said.

"I'm only speaking the truth!" James insisted with a grin. "Now, Lily, if you would allow me the pleasure of accompanying you to our compartment." He held out his right arm.

"Only because I have to," Lily said, choosing to ignore his arm and walking straight past him. "I'll see you later, Evelyn!"

James looked back at Evelyn one last time, winked, and rushed out of the train compartment to catch up with Lily. Evelyn laughed and leaned back against her seat. It was September the 1st and today was the last day the girl would be taking the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts. Six years had gone by tremendously fast, and Evelyn could hardly believe that she was in her seventh and final year of school.

Absentmindedly twirling her hair around her finger, she looked out the window of her compartment and surveyed the platform. Her and Lily had gotten to the train rather early and therefore, Evelyn could watch other students' farewells with their loved ones in leisure. She was glad that she had chosen to sleep over at Lily's house the night before. Lily was an early riser and even though she was in a very grumpy mood that morning, Evelyn was thankful that her best friend woke her up bright and early. In past years, she had barely made the train. This year, she was one of the first people on it. It was a nice change of pace. She even told herself that she would make a habit of this "getting-up-early" routine, but in the back of her mind, she knew that she would never follow through. Evelyn was a self-proclaimed night owl, and her late mornings proved it.

From the platform, Holden Crawley caught her eye and waved. Evelyn waved back and watched as his attention was taken away by his girlfriend, Alice Prewett. Holden was in the same year as Evelyn, but Alice was a year older and was therefore already out of Hogwarts. Evelyn felt her heart soar as she watched two of her good friends share a very heartfelt goodbye.

"I don't know if I want to turn into a gooey lovey-dovey mess or puke my guts out when I watch the two of them," a voice behind her said.

Evelyn turned around to see Hazel Thomas, her other best friend, looking through the window, watching the couple with a smile on her face. She grinned and immediately shot out of her seat and tackled her in a big bear hug. Hazel laughed and let Evelyn sway her to the opposite side of the compartment. "It's good to see you too, lovely."

After a few more seconds of squeezing, Evelyn finally let her friend go and stood back to appraise her. Hazel's curly black hair was arranged in a side braid and a purple and yellow headband adorned the top of her head. Her full lips were painted a deep red. Ever the fashionista of the group, she wore a pretty yellow sundress with orange heels. Her big brown eyes danced with laughter and her dark skin practically glowed.

"You look as wonderful as ever," Evelyn said.

"I do try," Hazel winked. "And you... certainly got up at a decent time this morning."

Evelyn laughed and swatted her friend's shoulder playfully. Hazel obviously knew of her friend's fondness for sleeping in and in the past years, this trait always caused the girl to end up at the train looking like a completely disheveled mess. Evelyn usually wore sweatpants with her hair tied in a loose bun for the train ride to Hogwarts for the simple reason that she had no time to fret over her appearance. This year, however, since she _had_ gotten up at a decent time, she figured it wouldn't hurt to look a little nicer. It was her last Hogwarts-bound journey, after all. She styled her light brown hair in loose waves that fell down to the middle of her back. Her dark jeans clung tightly to her legs and she wore a loose purple blouse. She even managed to put on a little makeup to accentuate her bright blue eyes.

"So how was the last half of your summer?" Evelyn asked her friend after they settled down. They had spent the first half of their vacation together with Lily in Hazel's estate. Her father was a prominent member of the Ministry of Magic and his wealth reflected it.

"Absolutely _horrendous_ without you two!" Hazel exclaimed. "I managed to find some entertainment when I ventured off into town. Made a couple of guy friends, if you know what I mean."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Evelyn laughed. "I'm sure they kept you busy."

"Not busy enough! Father's been going crazy lately, what with all these dark wizards roaming around. Says it's not long before a war broke out. He wanted to keep me under lock and key the whole time! He's afraid that something will happen to me if I wander about on my own," Hazel groaned in frustration.

"I don't blame him, though," Evelyn said. "He does encounter all of these horrific events first-hand. That would get any father scared out of his wits for his children. Especially since you're an only child."

"It makes him insufferable, is what it does," Hazel said, but continued to smile. Even though she complained about her dad, Evelyn knew that Hazel loved her parents with all her heart. Coming from a completely pureblooded line, Evelyn was glad that the Thomas' hadn't adopted the purist views that the Death Eaters had been trying to brainwash them with. They hadn't adopted their forms of discipline either. Both girls had heard enough stories from other pureblooded students' childhoods to be thankful that they never received a beating from their parents.

"The upside is that he let me buy anything I want from Witch Weekly's catalogues! I have a whole new wardrobe for this year," Hazel gushed. If there was anything that the girl loved as much as her family and friends, it was fashion. Evelyn knew that one day, her friend would become a famous designer for wizards and muggles alike. She loved watching Hazel's face light up as she sketched drawings of her latest designs and ideas. Her passion could take her very far, indeed.

A knock on the door caused both girls to look up just as Remus Lupin shyly stepped into their compartment. Right at that moment, the train lurched forward and began its long journey towards Hogwarts.

"Sorry to bother you ladies, but would it be awfully inconvenient if me and my mates sat with you guys? We would have gotten a compartment for ourselves, but this idiot-" he gestured towards Sirius Black, who had followed him in "-thought it would be better to chat up a Ravenclaw sixth year instead and now everywhere else is full."

Sirius grinned sheepishly. "Couldn't help it, mate. She cornered me. And I hardly think that would be classified as chatting up."

"Oh, and what would you classify it as?"

"Narrowly avoiding a train wreck. That girl and her friends are bonkers. I don't think any of them can talk to me without drooling unconsciously. It's rather frightening."

The two girls smiled as Remus, Sirius, and their other friend, Peter Pettigrew, sat down around them. The two groups were quite familiar with each others' presence since they were all seventh year Gryffindors. They had always been friendly towards each other, but never reached official "friendship" status until the end of sixth year. No one quite knew why, but they all guessed that James' unrequited love for Lily had something to do with it. Up until that time, Lily had avoided James like the plague, and therefore, that meant the rest of her friends had to do their best to avoid all of the Marauders. By the end of sixth year, however, something changed. James was still head over heels in love with the red-headed beauty, but he had toned down his arrogance and cockiness just enough so that Lily no longer found him unbearable. Once the two groups started conversing more often, they were all surprised to find that they quite liked each others' company.

"Hello boys," Evelyn grinned. "It's good to see you all in one piece. I reckon you lot played it safe this summer, then."

All three boys returned her grin. They weren't called the Marauders for nothing. Wherever they went, trouble usually found them. "We just heal quickly, love," Sirius said.

"You should have seen the bruises Sirius had just a couple of weeks ago," Peter laughed. The boy was short and pudgy. However, the girls found him rather endearing, thanks to his baby face and wisps of blonde hair. "Got it from flying over James' grounds and-"

"-There really is no need for them to know _that_ story, Pete," Sirius cut his friend off, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed. "_No one_ needs to know."

Remus and Peter laughed while Evelyn and Hazel raised their eyebrows. They had enough sense not to ask, though. When it came to the Marauders, they knew that there were times where the less they knew, the better. Sirius casually leaned back against his seat and surveyed his surroundings.

"Hazel, you look positively ravishing. But then again, what else is new?" he complimented the girl. Hazel responded with a wink. "And Ev, you're practically glowing this morning."

Evelyn smiled. Sirius Black, always the charmer. Contrary to popular belief, Sirius was not a womanizer. Sure, he had his fair share of relationships and hook-ups, but none more so than any other average guy at Hogwarts. She knew that he was fiercely loyal and trustworthy, as long as one stayed on his good side. He always knew what to say, especially when it came to girls. He never lied to charm a lady, but simply found her best traits and complimented them. If he had nothing good to say, he just kept his mouth shut. At least, that's the way it worked with the female population. The same thing couldn't be said for how he acted around his rivals, such as the Slytherins. There was even a period during fourth year when Sirius and Evelyn decided to try the whole dating concept with each other. After only two weeks, it ended on mutual grounds. When people asked why they had ended things, both answered that there was simply no spark between them. They just found it too weird to be romantically involved with each other, what with Sirius' best friend constantly trying to get Evelyn's best friend to go out with him. It seemed that most of their conversations during that time always led back to James and Lily.

The reason that many thought of Sirius as a womanizer was simply because of his good looks. Sirius Black was undoubtedly the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Dark brown, shaggy hair framed his face with perfection. His piercing grey eyes always had a sparkle of amusement in them and his trademark smirk always caused girls to swoon. Being a beater in the Gryffindor Quidditch team since third year, Sirius developed a chiseled body that he never failed to show off whenever he got the chance. It was only _fair_ that he used his looks to his advantage, right? Not to mention that he was a massive flirt. Evelyn knew that his heart was always in the right place, but that didn't mean he didn't make a few mistakes once in a while.

"And you're not looking so bad yourself," Hazel replied. "Why, you're almost as handsome as Remus!"

Sirius merely grinned at her jab. "I take that as a compliment, Thomas. Remus Lupin is absolutely divine!"

Remus quickly shifted farther away from Sirius, who he was sitting beside. "I don't want you getting any ideas, Black," he said. Sirius barked with laughter.

"Don't worry mate, Pettigrew is more my type anyways."

"I reject any advances you wish to make on me," Peter said. The whole compartment laughed.

"Better not let anyone outside hear you talking, Sirius. You know how rumours about you spread like wildfire in these halls," Evelyn warned through her laughter.

"People just love to talk about me," Sirius said smugly.

"And I really wish they'd stop," a new voice declared. Everyone turned their heads as Holden Crawley walked into the compartment, nodding a greeting to each boy before taking a seat in between Hazel and Evelyn. "It seems as if every girl I talk to must work you into the conversation at least once."

Sirius smirked at the blonde-haired Ravenclaw. "Jealous, Crawley?"

Holden smiled. "I guess I would be if I didn't have my Alice to keep me happy. She's really the only girl I need."

"Oh, you sap!"

"You are cheesiest of all that is cheese. Even more so than James when it comes to Lily!"

"Honestly, I might puke rainbows and lollipops if you keep that up."

Holden looked unfazed by all of his friends' teasing. People always wondered how the Ravenclaw had become such good friends with a group of Gryffindor girls. What most people didn't know was that Evelyn and Holden had been next door neighbours all their life. As children, they weren't exactly that close. Holden spent most of his time with Evelyn's older brother. The boy looked up to Matthew Wilcott as if he were a god. It wasn't until Evelyn and Holden were paired up as potions partners in their third year that they became good friends. Now, Holden spent just as much time with the Gryffindor girls as he did with his Ravenclaw friends. He wasn't that close with any of the Gryffindor boys, but the girls were glad that they could at least be friendly towards each other.

"I, for one, think it's great that Holden's found someone that makes him so happy. It's much more than I can say for the rest of us," Evelyn defended him.

"Sad you haven't met your knight in shining armour yet, Ev?" Sirius teased.

"Nah, I'm merely stating a fact," she replied.

"Speaking of knights in shining armour, I should go to the prefects meeting now," Remus said, getting up. "Wouldn't want to leave a poor first year defenseless against the Slytherins. Plus, I'd never forgive myself if I missed James and Lily's debut as Head Boy and Girl."

"Give us the play by play on it later, Moony!" Sirius called out after his retreating friend.

Soon after Remus' departure, the others settled around the compartment in comfortable companionship. Sirius, Peter, and Holden started playing a game of exploding snap, Hazel poured over a fashion magazine, and Evelyn read from the morning's Daily Prophet.

"I hardly saw you this summer, Ev," Holden said as two of his cards exploded. He narrowly missed getting his eyebrows singed off. "Been busy with the girls? I'm surprised your parents let you stay away from the house that long."

"Mmm?" Evelyn said, partially distracted by the article she was reading. "Oh, yes, I spent most of the summer with Lily and we were at Hazel's estate for the first half of it. Mum and dad didn't really mind. Mum's been so busy at St. Mungo's that she hardly has time for any of us. Dad's the same with his business." Evelyn was a half-blood. Her mom worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital while her dad managed a small business amongst the muggle community.

"And how's your brother doing these days?"

"Recently finished his Auror training. He can't wait to officially fight against You-Know-Who's men."

Sirius perked up at Evelyn's mention of Auror training. "So Matthew's alright then? Do you think I could owl him sometime about getting into the Auror program? I'm really curious as to what it's like."

"Sure, go ahead. Although I suspect he's still not a big fan of yours. Ever since we dated, he's been rather suspicious of you. I don't see why, though. It's not like you broke my heart or anything," Evelyn scoffed. "But I don't think he'll refuse to give you any advice."

"As long as he doesn't bite my head off in the process," Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, you definitely had enough experience with that this summer," Peter sniggered.

"I thought we agreed that that would be kept private, Wormtail!" Sirius said in exasperation.

"Look, I don't know how you guys came up with those silly little nicknames, but Peter definitely got the short end of the stick," Hazel commented over her magazine.

"Thank you! I agree!" Peter said.

"The steps of the nickname generation process cannot be revealed," Sirius said. "But I can tell you that we had no control over what Pete's nickname stemmed from."

"Marauders and their secrecy," Evelyn muttered.

The group fell into silence, the boys caught up in their game and the girls engrossed in their readings. No one made conversation until a certain article caught Evelyn's eye. She gasped after she read the title.

"Oh, Merlin," she whispered. Everyone looked up and she held the newspaper out for everyone to see the headline:

**Muggle Family Found in Death Eater's Torture Chamber**

The article was a whole page long, complete with pictures of the family and the place where they were locked up. Even from the black and white photo, they could tell that the place was small and disgustingly dirty. It was no place for any person to live in. Evelyn felt her stomach go weak. Hazel snatched the newspaper from her.

_"After being reported missing for several days, Aurors began to investigate the disappearance of the Atherton's, a very prominent family in the muggle community,"_ she read out loud._ "It became clear after interviewing a few neighbours that their disappearance was the work of You-Know-Who's followers. The Ministry used the many resources available to them to track down the whereabouts of the family. At first, it seemed a hopeless cause. The Aurors had just about given up when Alastor Moody, a force sure to be reckoned with in the coming years, managed to track down another muggle who had been brought under the Imperius Curse in order to help the Death Eaters smuggle the family into a secured location. It was only a short time after that when the muggle family was found."_

Hazel stopped reading out loud, letting the information sink in to others around her. After reading the whole article, she looked up, anger and outrage clear in her eyes.

"They're alive, but that's very little comfort considering their current conditions," she said. "They no longer know who they are. They were so badly beaten that they can barely move, even with all the spells and potions available to them at St. Mungo's. Their ability to speak is gone. Even the most basic human functions has been stripped away from them!"

"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered darkly, his eyes seething with anger.

Evelyn felt bile rise up her throat and tears threaten to spill from her eyes. The fact that these muggles were complete strangers to her didn't matter. No one deserved to be treated that way. She knew that Voldemort and his followers were gaining more and more power, but this was the first account of any muggle being affected by them that she had heard of. The fact that people who had no idea about the magical community were being brought into their sordid affairs made her even more mad at the injustice of the oncoming war.

"And they didn't even catch any bloody Death Eaters," Hazel sighed, throwing the newspaper down.

"What?" Holden exclaimed.

"By the time they got to the location, the Death Eaters had cleared out. I think they only got wind of the Aurors' approach right before they got there. That's why they didn't manage to bring the Atherton's with them."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "When I become an Auror, I swear to Merlin... The things I will do to those Death Eaters..."

Evelyn nodded in understanding. Everyone in the compartment knew of Sirius' stance with his pureblooded family and their admiration for Voldemort. He loathed the idea that his whole family would undoubtedly become Death Eaters - if they weren't already. Evelyn even heard rumours that Sirius had moved out of his house ages ago. Any sort of ties that linked him with his parents and brother had been severed.

"It's never fully hit me. That there's a war coming, you know?" Evelyn said. "I still don't think it's hit me, as in _really_ shaken me up. But this... this is revolting. I can't even imagine what will come later on."

"My father never tells me any of these things," Hazel added. "Reckon he's trying to protect me. As if never talking about it will make it go away."

"Yes, well, how do you reckon that conversation would go? _'Oh honey, there's been another attack. Three Death Eaters to one muggle boy this time. Barely made it out alive. Would you pass the potatoes?'_ Yeah, I don't think that would go over well," Holden said.

"It's better than being completely oblivious," Hazel countered.

"Well, we aren't anymore, are we?" Peter said, refusing to look up from his hands.

"You know, I heard people talking on the platform earlier," Holden mused. "Some parents refused to let their kids go to Hogwarts. Marlene McKinnon's parents almost pulled her out for the school year, but she wasn't hearing any of it. The girl's a feisty one."

"Good. We need more people like her around," Sirius said.

Silence fell among the group once more. This time, it wasn't a comfortable silence. Everyone had uneasy thoughts that they didn't dare speak out loud. Evelyn looked out the window and grimaced. The bright, sunny day was suddenly a huge contrast to her mood.

"Do you think it's safe to be in Hogwarts?" she finally asked. Sirius gave a humourless laugh.

"Are you kidding? With Dumbledore as Headmaster? It's gotta be the safest place in all of Britain."


End file.
